I tried First Class on Finland’s TILTING high-speed train...
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 25 ก.ค. 2024
- This is Finland's Pendolino S220, the high-speed train that couldn't handle cold weather, built for operation in one of Europe's coldest countries! I'll be riding in Ekstra Class from Helsinki to Turku, tilting through the south of this beautiful country.
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Journey Details:
Origin: Helsinki
Destination: Turku
Company: Valtion Rautatiet (VR)
Train: VR Sm3 'Pendolino S220'
Accommodation: Ekstra Class Seat (1st)
Distance: 190 kilometres / 118 miles
Price: €29.90 (£25.60 / $34.30)
Time: 1 hour 58 minutes, arrived 29 minutes late
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Find me elsewhere:
superalbs.weebly.com/
/ superalbs
/ superalbstravels
/ superalbstravels
1:34
Another example of Finnish honesty:
”Yes, there should be an info screen here. But since the past summer was the hottest since 1937, it burned. Here is now a sheet of plywood. Sorry.”
I love this message so much
I think fried is usually the term for electronics breaking.
@@aarepelaa1142 Burning is used for monitor panels as well. The image can "burn in" to the screen, making so that the pixels have difficulties or are incapable of changing colors anymore. So you can see a ghost image on the screen. It's possible that this was the case with those screens. But yeah in this case "fried" is most likely more correct.
@@aarepelaa1142 Burned is the correct technical term, fried is the common slang
Finnish viewer here: yes it is true these trains are notoriously unreliable in the cold (which is obviously most of the year), it is a surprising flaw to what is normally a comfy, punctual and generally nice mode of transport in Finland! However - as you mentioned - there’s little use for high speed trains here, and to be honest, travelling in this country is hard due to the lack of dual carriageways. So anything will do!
You probably mean double track. A carriageway is a road term, ‘ajorata’.
@@synchronos1 I was talking about the roads, between Kuopio (where I’m originally from) and Lahti a lot of the road is single carriageway so I prefer to take the train when I can
@@twosixfour570 Meanwhile in Denmark the governments have spammed highways all over for several years and it is hurting not just the railway ridership, but public transit as a whole, with many towns and villages losing vital bus links, and the remaining transit passengers experiencing crazy ticket price increases. Highways are detrimental to trains and public transit, if Finland builds out highways, I worry that the train service there is gonna get much worse
@@drdewott9154 I am surprised by that but I’ve not visited Denmark very often so I will take your word for it. In the case of Finland, the country is much larger and sparsely populated. Smaller towns and villages still use the railways since the local bus transit is inefficient anyway. If done correctly people will still use public transport, and don’t forget the northern half of the country has zero public transport, it is necessary to improve road infrastructure in Finland
@@twosixfour570 There is very little benefit for expanding those roads. Basically everything below Oulu works just fine and everything inside Kehä 3 is a nightmare that is impossible to fix. There are two main reasons for this: There are endless examples around the world, expanding roads increases usage and the benefits of expansion are lost. This is called induced demand. Secondly it always harms public transit in a way that causes the trains/buses per day to go down, increasing road usage, reducing public transit, increasing road usage, etc etc. Fun fact, a full bus equals to more than 1km of heavy traffic if it's directly converted into 1 person per car. *Most importantly* maintaining highways is expensive, very expensive.
There's a way to make travel easier for everyday people on those single lane per direction highways and also significantly reduce costs. It's by adding another rail track. Basically all electrified tracks should be double tracked. Large amount of the bulk truck traffic could be offloaded from the roads to the trains, significantly reducing the 80kph heavy vehicle and 100kph normal vehicle conflict. The reduced heavy weight traffic on those roads significantly reduces wear requiring less maintenance. Weight has direct causation to road wear.
11:24 Finns are so honest its great!
There is a newspaper in Finland that proudly states on it's front page "the third most widely read newspaper in the country". No newspaper in the UK would ever announce that.
Why should it be any different?
@@pvahanen yes
I am from Finland. And its true ppl are honest. I am too
That announcement of the train being late is so Finnish... :D I can almost imagine Kimi Räikkönen on the mic announcing it.
😂😂😂
Slight correction: "Valtion Rautatiet" used to be the name and it was abreviated VR. Now it's just VR. When the organisation was turned into a state owned private company they also "changed" the name. It's VR that stands for VR.
The most honest announcement in railway history. Cracked me up. But not out of character for Finns.
Also, your pronunciation of "Helsingin rautatieasema" wasn't half bad.
3:03 the Allegro trains are largely based on the Pendolino trains and just few days ago VR announced that they will enter domestic service in 2025. (I'll guess they might just brand them as Pendolino)
So that's a definitive goodbye to the international trains to Russia then?
It's sad to see these historical services go... Although I fully understand the reason of course.
@@osasunaitor For now, yes. But of course no-one knows what the future holds. Personally I believe there will be a day these services will resume.
@@toni8003Hope not! We don't want associate with russians in any case 😮
@@pekkajohannesvirkkula7473 To each their own.
@@toni8003As long as Putaine is in charge the border will stay closed.
You don't have to go to the restaurant car to order; The note says you can either send a text message to a certain number the conductor or the restaurant car attendant announces, or you just fill-in the part of the page and give it to the conductor.
And after this video was recorded, it has become possible, if you bought your ticket as registered user, you can order your food through the app and have it delivered to your seat.
Finnish Viewer here: I very often go with the Pendolino from Tampere To Jämsä, The train has NEVER gotten cancelled, only Once has it been replaced with IC stock, and the biggest delay ive had has been ~10 min. Maybe they were troubled ages ago, but nowadays they rarely have issues. (I do only go on that line where trains only go 120 kmh, maybe ive just had good luck)
I've rarely experienced major delays with VR, but three days ago I took a train from Rovaniemi to Helsinki and it ended up being three hours late. Staff told us that an air bag(?) broke in one of the cars and the top speed subsequently had to be lowered to 160km/h.
@@stigafan Air Bag here refers to the suspension of the train, so as suspension is broken...
Pendolinos got much more reliable as they stopped using the tilting mechanism, and therefore also cut down the speed of Pendolino trains.
@@mikkorenvall428 their speed is still 200km/h like it has always been. Only track that supports 220km/h is Helsinki-Lahti. Only their speed in curves is less than before.
Love the sunset shots at the end 😊
And thanks for documenting the hilarious display-plyboard at the Helsinki main station, god tier dry humour at 1:35 😂
I laughed out loud at that one. "There should have been a departure board here, but it caught on fire this summer. So here is a sheet of plywood instead" 🤣🤣
@@sjokomelk Yupp...thx for adding a translation for all international viewers 😁
As a Finnish rail enthusiast, I can tell you that the pendolino goes all the way to Oulu.
I highly recommend you go further north to rovaniemi or kolari with a overnight train.
I took the train from Helsinki to Kemi then a bus (2 buses actually) to Luleå, Sweden and another overnight train to Stockholm. Next time I'm in that area, for sure want to go to Rovaniemi, for whatever reason at the time it was off my radar, but now am fascinated by the place.
The time difference between the Pendelino and the intercoty is not very much between Tampere and Helsinki. The upstairs window seat in the dining car on the Intercity is very pleasant. Next trip to Finland I will taking the overnight train to Oulu.
Finland has the best trains in the Nordic region as far as I can notice so far.
The normal engine-hauled trains with either the Sr2 or Sr3 achieve 200km/h almost equally well. In some sections they may have to slow down to 160-180km/h for track condition reasons while the Pendolino may continue at a higher speed.
On the short new Kerava-Lahti track the Pendolino can run at 220 km/h.
I love that "When it works" :DDD
Hi, you forgot to mention that the VR android app allows you to order food to your seat. I enjoy travelling by train when I'm in Finland. UK rail operators could learn a lot from VR.
just a note on the track gauge: finnish and russian gauge are close enough (basically within the tolerances) that russian stock can run on finnish track and finnish stock can run on russian track. the only problems with this is that there are some rare examples of finnish freight cars (probably on the wider end of the tolerance) getting stuck on some russian yards that have some stretch of track with the width in the narrower end of the tolerance. the allegro is designed for 1522 mm to avoid this rare happening. the bigger thing with allegro is that it has two electrical systems on it, allowing it to run on the vastly different electrification systems (25kVAC vs 3kVDC) so unlike the loco-hauled services that need to change the loco on the border, the allegro can just drive without stopping on the border, coasting with both pantographs down in the section between the OLEs.
Excellent
Thank you for your video! People of Turku will especially like you calling it "a major city". :)
We have the same trains running in Portugal (alfa-pendular) and they are really similar. Only the shutters are operated by 2 toggle switches.
The Alfa Pendular will be amazing trains once the high speed railway from Lisbon to Porto is finally completed!
Thank you for sharing your experience.
Your videos are very detailed and expansive. The other podcasts are strictly from the cabview of the train which is nice but its nicer to have a tour of the different compartments on the train, especially the dining areas.
Thank you for this free adventure.
Great trip report
I've been on VR's Pendolinos and they're OK, but honestly, give me an upstairs seat in those double-decker carriages instead. For a small supplement, the top deck of the restaurant car is normally an especially relaxing place to be.
Upstairs in the restaurant car is very enjoyable.
Great video as usual, I’ll be waiting till the spring….
Another amazing video
The tilting system has been switched off on all trains for years now. It was last used on the curved Helsinki-Turku track, but now the condition of the track does not even allow the full speed.
The selling point of the train originally was the tilting but it never seemed to work reliably and the Finnish tracks in the main are fairly straight.
tämähän ei pidä paikkaansa. Kallistushydrauliikkaa on uusittu, mutta vasta muutamaan yksikköön. Siksi kallistusominaisuus on käytössä vain näissä yksiköissä.
@@torillatavataans711 Tämä video on niin vanha että silloin se taisi olla käytössä vielä kaikissa yksiköissä. Sen jälkeen kallistus poistettiin kokonaan käytöstä kaikista yksiköistä. Hyvä juttu jos nyt ovat uusimassa sen kaikkiin yksiköihin.
@@fsvideotfin2084 eihän tämä ole kuin reilun kuukauden vanha?
@@torillatavataans711 Jos selailet kommentteja pidemmälle niin löytyy videon kuvaajan vastaus. Video on kuvattu loppuvuodesta 2021. Silloin esimerkiksi Helsingistä pääsi suoraan Turun päärautatieasemalle eikä matka päättynyt Kupittaalle kuten tällä hetkellä.
@@torillatavataans711 Uusittu kaiketi vain yhteen yksikköön ja VR:llä päätettiin, että tekniikkaa ei enää uusita. Niinpä kallistusta ei enää käytetä Pendolinoissa Suomessa. Jää vielä nähtäväksi, onko Sm6-junissa tulevaisuudessa kallistus käytössä vai ei.
Thanks for posting. I have traveled in Ekstra Class on both the Pendolino and double-decker trains when visiting Finland, and I must say that I probably prefer the latter. The double deckers felt nicer somehow, can't put my finger on why. It was probably the layout. In general it is a delight to travel with VR. That there might be a small "hiccup" from time to time when you travel is something that I can live with. After all, I am Swedish and used to how SJ and the Swedish Transport Administration mistreat train travel in my home country.
interesting! Could you tell more about how SJ and the Transport Administration is mistreating train travel in Sweden? I havent heard of these problems yet
Layout but also the lighting makes it much nicer.
the two floor trains are much nicer now they replaced the extra class seats with big seats in 2+1 layout instead of just fitting the same 2+2 seats as standard class but with slightly more legroom and then invisibly branding them as 2+1 with one seat left unsold (not that anything inside the train told you which was the "2" side and which was the "1" side). A rough deal for those who didn't know what was going on.@@ptterz1277
@@MajorLazer182 I would say that sj is doing their best to provide service, but their tickets can be quite expensive. And I don't think that Trafikverket does a terrible job but they do cause most delays iirc. I think they just need more funding to upgrade our network. Then there is also the people who blame sj when riding on a train which isn't even operated by them😂
@@Brickblock1wastakenThat last part is very true. I know someone who refuses to travel with SJ whenever we’re/they’re travelling to one of the ends of the route that the SJ trains here operate on, due to the regional trains not even operated by SJ being delayed by trackwork that ended over a year ago.
You may need to schedule another trip to Helsinki in 2025 when those Allegro trains after some rebranding and refurbishing will continue their service in domestic traffic. I am very interested to try those out as they look sleek inside out. :P
Very good effort on the pronunciation of the helsinki central train station, the vowels were a tiny bit off but the rest sounded much better than anything I ever heard from someone that didnt grow up with the language/studied it for a some time! Thanks for the review. :) The high price is for meals/drinks at the station is unfortunately pretty usual for finnish standarts.
8:41, it was the same case for the Oslo Stockholm service where most of the routes are single-tracked with speeds only up to 130 km/h despite being run by SJ3000, that's why it takes 6-7 hours.
Wow so interesting!
Thanks for the ride.🇺🇾
VR just recently announced that they will be introducing the Allegro trainsets on domestic routes in 2025
We have the same trains in Czechia, you just get 2+1 seating also in 2nd class
Yeah, and we also had many problems with them (and not only in winter) 😆 though I think they're still the most comfortable trains here, esp. because of the 2+1 seating in 2nd class
I was shocked when I started seeing pendolino trains in rovaniemi, and in january no less!
that ticket is a great price! I enjoyed this!
Nice!😊
Been to Finland very impressive rail system . Pendolinos seemed to be working well ,on time and kept in good condition like the rest of its trains very efficient system . Don’t have a problem with the design it’s a matter of personal opinion.
Great trip. At least this isn't broke down during the journey. Can't wait for your Indonesian Rail Adventure Trip.
All the best in New Year.
There are plans to build a new line helsinki-turku called the "one hour train" (tunninjuna) that will take a much more direct route. This will cut the journey time helsinki-turku to 78 mins. There is some marketing sleight of hand used to create the name "one hour track" when the journey time is well over one hour!!
I should take a pendolino sometime, luckily the west coast mainline also has them - first class is out of the question though!
during summer train schedules are as reliable as they get, but in winter expect to wait many hours past the scheduled arrival. I have used the train to go from town A to town B a handful times and more often than not it has been drastically late during winter.
This looks like late 2020, as the turku-kupittaa station has been in renovation for quite some time now
Late 2021. :)
I've traweled Pendolino trains six times in my 13 years of trawelling by trains.
I've traweled ones in ekstra class (soon twice)
Might be looking into visiting Finland next winter, like the idea of trying out the sleeper train that goes from Helsinki to Lapland. Does look magical all in winter.
don't there's nothing really to do here and there's no unique dishes
@losarex that's a dream for some of us 😍
id highly reconmend it
@@isb6.759 id highly not recommend it
@@losarex I dunno what your problem is but there's poron käristys (reindeer stew) karjalanpiirakka (karelian pie) and finnish salmon soup is world famous. As well as finnish cinnamon rolls (korvapuusti).
Plus it would be really odd to base your travel destinations only if they have unique dishes. By that logic many countries would be disqualified as well.
Certainly reminds me of Denmark's IC4 trains. Somewhat glad that we arent alone
Due to the developement of the electric locomotives, which are used on IC trains, they actually do not use the tilting function of the pendolino trains, because it would not mach the slots iof the train was too fast. And changing the slots would mess up other commuter trains slots and so on.
2:44 Four railway lines with 13 different services
I really like the stroller-compartment of the train :D Havent seen that before. Finnish trains (also considering the price) really are what makes the train a mode of mass transport :)
The prices are quite high to be honest. A car is often cheaper
@@bfg_pz2213 Trains in Finland connect cities together, and bigger cities especially in Southern Finland have less people driving overall. For example in Helsinki there are about 250 000 registrated vehicles in traffic use, but more than half a million residents, and this includes all registrations and not just private passenger cars. Renting a car is often more expensive than taking a train journey. Thus the price seems high, but is actually competitive.
Correction those trains have the tilting disabled cause it wont work as planned in here
I think this is the case in other countries too. The tilting technology proved more complex than anticipated
@@osasunaitor the tilting works in Czechia, but we too had many problems with these trains when we bought them
Turku is even more basic now because the trains only go as far as Kupittaa stop due to bridge replacement works.
whaa these trains look pretty cute
11:24 so honest it made me laugh but anyhow I recommend you going with the pendolino the 8h way to oulu😎
A fact that might surprise some that are visiting Finland is that the restaurant cars are pretty much bars on rails. Sleeper trains are usually an exeption to the rule but you will see some sitting there pint in hand until closing as well.
10:00, in the info it says you can send them a text message and they will bring you the food to your own seat. So you don't have to go to the restaurant car if you want to order 👍
Do one on Snälltåget Malmo to Innsbruck, the longest train service in all of Europe!
How many cars are on this train?
Depends on the context.@@lightoffreedomdarknessoffu2140
7:22 the seat slides forward to achieve the same angle as other seats :)
nowadays you should be able to use the VR app to order your meal and on some departures you can even get it delivered to your seat. Back then you could have handed the menu to the conductor and they've delivered the food to you if the situation allows
VR used to be an abbreviation of "Valtion Rautatiet", back when it truly was a state service. But in the 90's the railway services were privitized and the name was changed to just VR. Also, pendolino tilting systems have been permanently deactivated a few years back, because they caused so much trouble.
Wow a Pendolino tilting train in Finland. Looks lot different from the other Pendolinos including the Avanti West Coast Class 390. Finland is an incredible country and has spectacular views of mountains.
we dont have real mountains
It's based on the 2nd gen of italian Pendolino. This because the Pendolino was originally planned by Fiat Ferroviaria, but in 2000 it was bought by Alstom, who exports the Pendolino type in Europe (including the New Pendolino and the UK class 395)
we do not have mountains, wrong country, you thought of Norway perhaps :D
We only have one municipality with altitudes exceeding 1 km, but that municipality doesn't have railways...
Exterior : horrible,
Interior: adorable
Well in slovenia we have a pentolino but it is limited to 160 kmh despite tracks being renovated. Actually they did a test and it went 207 kmh on a single line track so i just dont know why they didnt raise the speed. But they are planing a fast rail so im guesing they are gona use them on that fast track
About the toilet, we actually have a saying in Finland that goes "toimii kun junan vessa" roughly translating to "works like a train toilet" 😂😂
Are you going to try new Czech Railways ComfortJet, that will be launched in first quarter of 2024?
As you say it looks very good when everything goes well. Shame they have some issues with the trains.
Finland's railway network is surprisingly affordable despite everything else being expensive. They're also very equipped to cope with the harsh winter conditions, especially with these loco-hauled double-deck electric rakes.
That said, the Pendolino is still an important train for Finland's rail system, even though if it is not really reliable (though more reliable than the FAILED Danish IC4s!). The Pendolino looks quite modern for a train built in the 1990s and is comfortable for longer journeys.
To be fair, the high speed of the Pendolino is not as necessary on this route, which could have been operated by any train on the VR fleet. Overkill?
*EDIT:* _Last comment before leaving to try Indonesia's new Whoosh bullet train (if I can). Be right back!_ 🤗
In theory, if the tilting system worked, Pendolinos could travel at higher speeds through the many corners on Helsinki-Turku line without having to do major modifications to the track. This was one key reason why VR bought Pendolino trains. However as the tilting system didn't work as intended (it's now been disabled from all trains) and the track couldn't handle higher speeds (some corners have been strengthened), the only reason to use Pendolinos is that they exist, they are probably serviced in Helsinki, and they are less suitable for many other routes (fewer seats, limited accessability, no storage for bikes or skis etc.).
The Pendolino fleet is down to 15 units by the way. Two prototype units and one unit after collision in Tampere have been removed from service.
Oh, that's a shame! :(
Please try one of the Heritage routes in India. Either Kalka - Shimla, or Darjeeling. These are quite unique.
the normal wifi will not work it just wont barely can send messages but the extra wifi feels very good was able to watch 1080p youtube for a big part o the journey from tampere to jyväskylä
Boa viagem lindo trem verde
Hi! The seats next to the wall have a slightly different mechanism, as the seat actually slides forwards for more leaning :)
That's great to hear! Thank you.
10:00 The instructions are in finnish, but the rear side of the menu explains how to order food to your seat by sending an SMS.
If I am not wrong, the train should terminate at Kupitta due to an ongoing track work. How did you get to Turku?
You are right, but this video was filmed in 2021.
@@SuperalbsTravels Ah... the prevalence of face masks makes more sense now. Though it did look like it was either unenforced or voluntary.
It was voluntary, so many of us didn't bother! 😁
Hope you also filmed in the doubledecker
In my experience the issues with Pendolino were mostly ~15 years ago. Nowadays they don't have issues often.
Kallistuksen ongelmat ratkaistiinkin poistamalla koko kallistusjärjestelmä käytöstä kesällä 2021.
nice journey, when west of wales line??
I'm shocked that I had no idea Swedish was an official language in Finland. You learn something new every day.
Well.. Finland is the Swedish name for Suomi but I guess that's not a giveaway as Nihon is the Japanese name for Japan, Aotearoa the Maori name for New Zealand, etc, etc.
Yes university and college graduates have to show some verbal and literal knowledge in the respective "other" language. Piece of cake for the most Swedish-speakers, but often causes trouble for the Finnish-speakers, although the bar is really not that high.
@@Itapirkanmaa2 Not a piece of cake for many Swedish speakers.
I know right? Even I as a Finn sometimes forget that, because it doesn't really manifest in daily life. The Swedish speaking population in Finland is rather small and most of them speak fluent Finnish, while the rest of us can barely speak a sentence in swedish despite it being mandatory in school. Most people do the bare minimum to just pass the tests and then forget about it. We have also learned to completely ignore the swedish in street signs etc. since a young age.
So unless you live in a city with a higher concentration of swedish speaking people then swedish might as well not be an official language. All it means in practice is you're entitled to service an education in swedish which doesn't play a role in the majoritys lives.
Has had Maaany exciting adventures with pendolinos during the past decades. Doors and brakes frozen, toilets out of use, pendos cars couldnt be paired to other pendo, sudden total electric blackouts and total emergency stops, sudden emergency brakings, outwalking out of train with pulling all the luggages on the rails in snow weather together with hundreds other passengers to the awaiting emergency transport busses... otherwise the trains have been ok😅
10:00 There's instructions how to order the food online but it is not translated in that sheet for some reason
The funny part is, the InterCity trains are typically traveling as fast if not faster than pendolinos despite not being as aerodynamic. And the one named "pikajuna" - "quick train" - is the slowest type of long-distance passenger train XD
Are there still those left? Haven't seen one in over two decades. It was fun when you could open the door on a moving train and sit on the stairs during summer. And it felt like an adventure to walk between the railcars as a child with all the loud noises and everything shaking and moving so much in the dark and you could even see the tracks if I remember right.
By the way, it's no nice to see such a busy buffet car. In a day and age where they're been scrapped and going to trolley service (or even just nothing), it's nice to see one getting some good use. The Finns must be quite a social people! Either that, or you can get cheap alcohol there and that's opening them up. haha
Us finns are not usually very social nor is the alcohol cheap on trains, infact its quite the opposite.
However, there is something special getting a pint or two on the rails and chatting with complete strangers whom you wouldn't have met otherwise and having a great time!
The atmosphere in the restaurant cars is something special as it seems that people tend to be a lot more sociable and welcoming there, even if you pop in just to grab a bite or two.
9:29 that's quite weird name for tea for English speaker
Old Norse "puss", whence "purse". Finns just love borrowing words and putting "i" on the end.
@@6yjjktrue, "pose" still means bag in Norwegian nowadays
There's also the classic "Megapussi" salted chips 🤪
The worst thing about these trains are in the summer when the ac doesn't work and the entire train becomes an oven 😂
These trains look very nice, it must have been a pleasant journey. First class is really a first class experience. I once travelled from Oulu to Kemi by one of those massive double decker trains, they are incredibly comfortable and efficient. And not too expensive. Here in The Netherlands, the same distance you travelled would cost around 50 euros in first class, without any catering service. Let alone free coffee or water.
A small note on the Swedish language, you say that 5% of Finns speak Swedish, but that is really concentrated around the Turku area. Helsinki is only bilingual because Swedish is an official language, but not because half of Helsinkians prefer or even speak Swedish. Don't expect Swedish on signs anywhere north of Tampere, and expect the Inari language appearing as a second language on signs around Rovaniemi and anywhere north of that.
Absolutely true what you say about northern Finland, but the coastal region around Helsinki is actually traditionally bilingual too. Helsinki and other municipalities of the capital region are the exception with much lower percentage of Swedish speakers than in the surrounding coastal region, such as in Porvoo or Raasepori.
The southern Swedish speaking areas stretch from Åland through the Turku archipelago to the eastern side of the Uusimaa region, way past Helsinki. Another Swedish speaking region further north is on the western coast around Vaasa and Kokkola.
I think nearly all train stations in Finland have signs in Finnish, Swedish and English. But yeah, outside of the coastal regions of Uusimaa, Southwest Finland and Ostrobothnia Swedish isn’t spoken much. Even in the city of Tampere, which has the second largest metro population in Finland, the trams only have announcements in Finnish and very rarely in English.
I try to avoid Pendolinos myself. The IC trains are just as fast but the ride is bearable.
On the Swedish-speakers: there are three main areas: the Ostrobothnian coast along the cities of Kaskinen-Vaasa-Kokkola, in Helsinki and the coastline to the east into Loviisa, and then in the Tammisaari-Turku.Naantali coastline, and most of the islands towards Åland, which is officially monolingual.
@@Itapirkanmaa2ride is only bearable for a maximum of one hour. After that I'm crying from back pain. Maybe it's little better on the second floor of the restaurant car.
And I'm not saying Pendolino is any better. It's just as bad.
Next time try X2000, you will find most stuff is a little bit outdated, but it was iconic for sure.
In terms of value travelling on intercity trains is better similar comfort and speed on most routes. Usually a 10% cheaper than tickets on Pendolino trains
0:50 The english translation is Helsinki central railway station.
I think the ”trains are often late in Finland” is overhyped as it almost never happens for me but we just never try to hide it when it happens. Those Pendolino trains were a stain for the VR’s reputation some years ago especially during very low temperatures but even those problems are mostly fixed nowadays.
11:40 And this is the other reason why I don't use trains in Finland. Helsinki - Karjaa is a 60 min drive and it should be 75 min by metro and train, but add that 30 min delay and you have to wait another 30 min for your connecting train from Karjaa to Tammisaari or other people have to wait 30 min at Karjaa waiting for the delayed Pendolino. And Karjaa - Tammisaari is only 15 min drive, so now suddenly a 75 min trip takes 135 min and a 15 min trip takes 45 minutes.
finland has to take notes from norway
Including the lack of speed?
What do you expect? Their network was just buildt quite a while ago so it wont be capable of such high speeds. @@unknownperson3691
@@unknownperson3691 the lack of speed is not caused by the trains, but the endless curving of the tracks. The EL18 trains running on Bergensbanen works good at a maximum of 160 kph, the Type 73 had some troubles in the beginning but is now running at 210 kph. The Stadler Flirts have worked great as well, being capable of 250 kph. The new Airport express Type 78 is a version of the CAF Oaris, being capable of 350 kph. The national speed limit is 210 though...
My times riding Pendolino they have never broken down or stopped in the middle of nowhere
This winter bigest delay was from Lapland to Helsinki about 5 hours! Reason was cold weather over - 30 Celcius degrees! And why it was so much late pipes frosed so no toilets! So train must stop nearest still operating station! If you have money and wanting exotic home you can buy own station! Problem is trains won't stop where! Even Turku they have plans to make new public transport station! But Who knows when they start building it! Idea is good all trais and busses you find same place!
The seats recline like that because for whatever reason, even though Finland is quite large, none of our transport is made for comfort. The long-distance buses are terrible and the only trains that are comfortable for a longer journey are the Lapland trains that have cabins with beds. I used to live and travel a lot in South America and the buses are from a different universe than the crappy Finnish ones, though granted they’re very slow (not many trains in S. America unfortunately.)
11:43 Sounds like that rapper who sang THAT Finnish song.
Still you shouldn't be scared on every trip that it breaks, who would travel if that was the case :D
The original Russian track gauge is 1524mm wide which was used in most/all of the Russosphere but at some point in Soviet Times (I think it was 1950s-1960s), the communists reduced track width by 4mm to 1520mm across their union but clearly Finland did not convert down to the new track width!
A flying finn... on rails!
About the reliability. A Swedish person once summarized Finnish and Swedish people are punctual but trains (Pendolino) are Italian. :D
Did it struggle to survive? Or did it struggle to survive?
VIA Rail, Canada's national railway, had the same trouble with its LRC (Light Rapid Comfortable) tilting trains, launched in 1981.
I remember riding one at that time, from Toronto to Montreal, and it tilted far more than was comfortable, even on gentle curves.
Most of Canada gets very cold and snowy in winter, and the trains kept breaking down. After several years, VIA Rail disabled the tilting mechanisms. Some of these trains are still in service, but are now being replaced with new, state-of-the-art trains.
However, since passenger trains run on tracks owned by freight railways, the freight trains take priority. So, passenger trains can't run at high speed, and are often delayed by having to wait for freight trains to pass.